Hi-Tec

We asked for your votes on who you felt had been the best brand of the last 12 months, and we had well over 1500 votes come in. The winning brand for 2016 is Hi-Tec and when you look at what a great year they have had, it’s not difficult to see why. 2016 saw them continue to release fantastic footwear at affordable prices for the whole family, getting people of all abilities and experience into the outdoors. Hi-Tec’s childrens footwear features their ‘Big fit’ system, which helps to prolong the life of children’s footwear, as the built in volume adjuster helps to create more space as their feet grow, meaning you don’t need to buy new shoes for little ones quite as often. As well as a range of tough footwear to tackle your treks, you’ll also find a great selection of everyday footwear that looks great too, it’s not difficult to see why they’ve been the trusted brand of boots used for ‘Im a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here’ since it began. Congratulations to Hi-Tec, the brand of the year 2016.

FIONA OUTDOORS

Having collected thousands of votes across our eight categories, our customers and staff have picked their favourites and we’re delighted to announce Fiona Outdoors as our Best Outdoor Blog! Fiona said “I am absolutely delighted to be voted the winner of the GO Outdoors Blog awards 2016” and gives her “thanks to many votes from readers, friends and followers”
Competition was strong and a special mention goes to Camping with Style, Mud and Nettles, Wild About Scotland and The Thrifty Magpie’s Nest who were all shortlisted this year.

Rab Microlight Alpine Jacket

It’s not just you guys that love the Rab Microlight Alpine, we love it too. 2016 saw our largest range of colours for this jacket ever, which gave fantastic variation for anybody looking to pick one up. The Microlight Alpine offers a down jacket that isn’t bulky and has an amazing warmth to weight ratio. It looks great, it packs down well, it’s consistently highly rated by people who own the jacket – a real adventurers best friend.

Scarpa Terra GTX

Walking is probably one of the biggest hobbies among GO staff, it’s a great way to escape and blow away the cobwebs. While we would always recommend choosing the boots that are right for you and your activity, we’re often asked for personal recommendations, time and time again it’s the Scarpa Terra GTX that is mentioned. A fantastic classic looking pair of walking boots that is more often than not comfortable straight from the box. It’s no surprise it’s still highly rated on our website even after over 80 reviews. The Terra GTX are a 2-3 season boot ideal for British hill walking.

OEX Ultra Lite Camping Chair

The Ultra lite camping chair was one of the most popular products at our product launch for staff members in early 2016, plenty couldn’t wait for it to hit stores later that year. It’s proven popular with wild campers and motorcycle tourers due to it’s tiny pack size and light weight. The Ultra Lite is due back in in 2017, and we’d recommend trying one out next time you are in store, you’ll be surprised how comfortable they are.

Calibre Bossnut

Our Cycle departments no longer look at time as BC and AD, it’s pre-Bossnut and post-Bossnut. The Calibre Bossnut is voted as our favourite cycle product for the second year running, and listening to what customers and magazines have to say about the bike, it’s not difficult to understand why. It really is an industry renowned mountain bike that has been hugely popular for Calibre and we know that it’s got the team inspired to create something even better in the future. So keep your eyes peeled on Calibre.

Montane Cobra 25

It’s no secret that a lot of us at GO love Montane packs, and the Cobra 25 might just be one of the best. It’s packed full of features for such a small pack, which makes it ideal for day hikes or any other activity where you only need a smaller pack. The Cobra’s back system is comfortable, incredibly easy to adjust, durable and an all-round favourite in our votes

Scosche boomBOTTLE Wireless Speaker

The boomBOTTLE has caused quite a stir among GO staff in 2016, it’s easy to be cynical about some wireless or outdoor speakers, because they can often have a rather ‘tinny’ sound or short battery life, but the boomBOTTLE is actually brilliant. Rugged in design, it’s proven popular with campers, festival goers, walkers, it even fits into your bikes bottle cage, making it ideal with bike rides too. The speaker is wireless using Bluetooth, and water resistant to a level, so you don’t need to worry too much about a bit of water. On a full charge, the speaker should be good for 15 hours of continuous music. Heading outdoors with friends? You need to check this bit of kit out. Our favourite gadget of the year.